SHIP

What Does Ship Mean in a Text?

The Quick Answer

Ship means "Relationship."

More Observations...

It is popular in fanfiction circles and refers to a (usually romantic) relationship between characters in a book, film, TV series, manga, or anime. Usually, the ship in question is not canon in the original story, but is promoted or endorsed by fans. Such ships include those between Mulder and Scully in the X-Files TV series, and between Harry and Hermione in the Harry Potter stories.

Image for Ship

When I write Ship, I mean this:

Hermione and Harry were never a couple.

Summary of Key Points

"Relationship" is, by far, the most common meaning for Ship when it is used in a text. (Bear in mind that it could have another meaning if used in a different context.)

Ship
Definition:	Relationship
Type:	Abbreviation
Guessability:	3: Guessable
Typical Users:	Adults and Teenagers

Examples of ship in Sentences

Here are examples of ship in conversations:

Toni: I think I'm starting to like Brad.
Jordan: I totally ship you both!

Sam: I always shipped Dumbledore and McGonagall.
Ali: Don't be silly! J K Rowling said Dumbledore was gay.

An Academic Look at Ship

Ship is a shortened version of relationship and is therefore a contraction. Contractions tend to be formed in one of three ways:

Using letters from the start or end of the word (e.g., ship, amp from amplifier).
Using letters from the start and end of the word (e.g., Dr from Doctor).
Using an apostrophe to replace a letter or letters (e.g., can't from cannot).

For reasons of brevity, contractions are rarely followed by periods/full stops, and apostrophes are routinely omitted in text mesaging and on social-media platforms. In most contexts, ship is a noun. However, when it means to endorse a relationship, ship is also often used as a verb.